After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic.

The country was divided along various lines of political opinion; one of these schools of thought (which had existed prior to Perry's arrival) was sonnō jōi: "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians."

Radical followers of this ideology began to commit acts of murder and violence in Kyoto, the imperial capital.

In 1863, hoping to respond to this trend, the Tokugawa Shogunate formed the Roshigumi (浪士組), a group of 234 masterless samurai (rōnin), under the nominal command of the hatamoto Matsudaira Tadatoshi and the actual leadership of Kiyokawa Hachirō (a dynamic ronin from Shonai).

The group's formal mission was to act as the protectors of Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th shogun, who was preparing to embark on a trip to Kyoto.

The Rōshigumi, was funded by the Tokugawa regime. However, Kiyokawa Hachirō's goal, which he revealed following the group's arrival in Kyoto, was to gather rōnin to work with the imperialists.

In response, thirteen members of the Rōshigumi became the thirteen founding members of the Shinsengumi

Shinsengumi on Wikipedia

Hajime Saito

Saito was born in Edo, Musashi Province, under the name of Yamaguchi Hajime. Not much is known about his early life. Shinsengumi Period As a member of the Shinsengumi, Saitō was said to be an introvert and a mysterio...

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Okita Souji

Okita Sōji (沖田 総司), (1842 or 1844 - July 19, 1868) was the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, a special police force in Kyoto during the late shogunate period. He was a well-known genius swordsman, being one of the best swordsm...

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First Biography tonight.

While getting started, I will do a brief bio on the thirteen founding members of the Shinsengumi. Many of the names will be familiar, especially those like me who watched Peacemaker Kurogane. And as the bios are done, I will do PMK and Rurouni Kenshin stuff. Surprises along the way.

Something to look forward to tonight.

Work in Progress.

I just created this world today. Partly because of an idea Someguy had. I decided to spearhead this for him.

As far as me, you can look forward to:

1 Shinsengumi history
2 Anime summaries which involve shinsengumi
3 Featured Character Bios, and historical comparisons to some degree.
4 Other things I cannot think of at the moment.

See ya all later, and if you would like to guest post on this world, let me know, and I will be sure to add you.

Have a good one.
Schultzie

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